We all know that April 1 is April Fools’ Day, but did you know that April 2 is National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day? Awareness days mark commemorative dates, recognize important occasions or support common interests, however niche.
According to National Day Calendar, there are more than 1,500 national awareness days, not to mention international, federal, state and regional holidays. While it may seem like there’s a special day for almost everything, there’s a reason why so many people and organizations want to create more of them. Every day of the year presents a reason to celebrate and an opportunity to engage with audiences via creative public relations and marketing strategies.
Work toward your PR and marketing goals by taking advantage of existing awareness days or creating your own day. Here, we discuss our recommendations for both strategies.
“Every day presents a new reason to celebrate and a new opportunity for creative public relations and marketing strategy.”
GUIDE YOUR MARKETING CALENDAR
Whether you’re in health care, food and beverage or technology, you can find a recognized awareness day that relates to your business. Make note of the relevant days throughout the year and plan your marketing strategy around them.
Schedule social media posts for each awareness day, send media pitches that provide additional context about the holiday, establish your business as an industry leader by speaking about the day’s relevance and mark the occasion with a special sale or new product launch. When tied to an awareness day, your products and/or services automatically become more topical and newsworthy.
CREATE YOUR OWN DAY
If you find that your ideal day hasn’t been created yet, this is an opportunity for you to position your brand as a thought leader. Creating your own day, whether it’s through a proclamation from your local government or recognition from an organization such as National Day Calendar, will not only increase your credibility and authority, but also increase your chances of media coverage each year. In selecting a day, be careful that you’re not overlapping or in conflict with another date that may be important to your target audiences.
Even if your industry’s day is already in the books, there’s no reason why you can’t be more creative and specific. What differentiates your business from your competitors? Think about your customers, find your niche and stake your claim. For example, National Brownie Day (Dec. 8) was already taken, so National Cream Cheese Brownie Day (Feb. 10) was established.
Each year, you will be able to take advantage of this awareness day by promoting your services and acting as the established industry expert. Plan a ceremony to celebrate, encourage others to partake and educate the community about the importance of your chosen cause, even if that cause amounts to something delicious and fun!
From serious subjects such as medical needs to lighthearted ones such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, you have created a reason to consistently think about something that people need or cherish, potentially lending long-term relevance to your brand.
USE THE CALENDAR
Whether you observe a previously created awareness day or start a new one, these special recognition days can frame the discussion about a topic important to your business or organization. Take advantage of the calendar to give a boost to what your business does and to help set a rhythm for your own public relations and marketing plans.